Silent stories
by FadingGrin
Summary: A collection of fics about the Vongola Famiglia. Because sometimes, words become superfluous.
1. Chapter 1

You see, they never expected to end up together. No-one else did either, except perhaps Reborn, but Reborn sees lots of things and it is only rarely that he mentions any of the truly important ones.

Their story didn't start off as love. As a matter of fact, they were quite indifferent to each other's existence, and would have been perfectly content to stay that way. They had no significant contact with each other, other than the Famiglia. And Gokudera Hayato was the Boss's right-hand man while Miura Haru was merely a member of the Famiglia, and not a particularly strong one.

Things probably would've stayed that way, too, if Haru hadn't applied to the same university Gokudera did. They did not know of this fact until a few months into the school term, when Gokudera spotted three guys harassing a girl. What he saw when he got a little closer shocked him. Before he could blink, two thugs were on the ground, holding their legs and bleeding and the last one looked frightened. But what shocked him the most, was the girl he now recognized as Miura Haru. She held a gun in her hands, her posture perfect and her face cold.

Now, while Gokudera had never really paid much attention to her, he'd always been aware of the fact that she was a little violent. She'd tried to kill the Jyyudaime once, after all. And now he had no doubts that Miura Haru was capable of murder and more. And while that was a little unsettling, he couldn't help but be a little impressed at the sheer efficiency and effortless competency she portrayed with the gun in her hands and her left shoe spattered with blood.

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><p><em>I'm not the owner of Katekyo Hitman Reborn!. And remember, reviews keep writers happy!<em>


	2. Chapter 2

Miura Haru was a passionate person. It was plain for anyone with eyes. She loved fiercely and hated venomously. So it did not particularly surprise Bianchi when she came to her, her eyes on fire and demanding to be taught how to handle a gun. And because Reborn hadn't said anything about not training her, Bianchi agreed.

Everybody in the Vongola Famiglia that knew Haru knew that she was a passionate person. But even Bianchi, who spent a surprising amount of time with her and could boast to know her somewhat well, was surprised. The way Haru handled a gun was beautiful. Her hold on the weapon was firm and graceful, her posture sure. But what surprised her –and would surprise her brother- were her eyes. The first time she fired the gun, her eyes gleamed with something savage and primal, something that said it was hungry and smiled with a lot of sharp teeth.

The target had been pierced near the middle. Haru remained in her stance and fired the remaining bullets at the target in a movement that was as violent as it was sensual before she lowered the gun and turned towards Bianchi with the thrill of success gleaming in her eyes.

It was not long before a gun that gleamed suspiciously green found its' way to Haru's possession, and it was even less before she started disappearing for a few hours a day, only to return in a particularly good mood. And if Reborn smiled a little into the cup of coffee she had made for him, it's not like anyone noticed anything out of the usual.

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><p><em>Katekyo Hitman Reborn! doesn't belong to me, reviews keep writers happy, et cetera.<em>


	3. Chapter 3

Sasagawa Kyoko is blind. That was the conclusion that Haru had arrived to, multiple times in fact. To give credit where credit is due, she admits that it's not really Kyoko's fault. It's a combination of over protectiveness from the guys and a natural innocence that makes it hard for her to understand that people could be joined together with blood and vendettas and once-upon-a-times, instead of smiles and gentle words. It's really rather admirable, Haru thinks. The world needs people that think of rainbows and sunshine.

However, she can't really avoid pitying Kyoko. Just a little, of course, and never more then she is jealous of her, they are rivals in love, after all. Even if Kyoko is not aware of the fact. But Kyoko is a flower, and flowers are not made to survive being torn from their roots and shredded across the sky to be a part of raging storms and bloody rains. And even if Kyoko could survive it, she would not be able to stay a flower. Haru can see that. And if Kyoko is not a flower, her place and function in the Famiglia will disappear.

She does not speak of this. Least of all to Kyoko herself, no matter how the jealousy rises bitterly in her throat or venomous words, made all the more cutting by them being the truth, churn in her stomach when Tsuna turns that small, awkward smile of his towards Kyoko, despite all that Haru has done for him.

It takes many an evening for Haru to see that Tsuna, too, is a flower. Oh, not the delicate type that Kyoko represents, but a flower nonetheless. It is then that she finally starts letting go. She has had crushes on them all. The bad boys, the gentlemen, the cool and collected… So she knows better than many that birds of a feather flock together and Haru is not a flower, no matter how much she may want to be. Oh, she pretends. She is good at that, and as she is not an insane fighting machine like Hibari or Yamamoto, it is quite smart of her. But pretending is not the same as being, and Haru knows that too.

So she makes herself useful in quiet ways. She leaves small snacks in training rooms and makes sure there's plenty of water available. She does the laundry and cooks with Kyoko and Bianchi and I-pin. But there are other things she does. She does not stay at the base nearly as much as the rest. There are evenings when she'll wear a suit and slink along the hallways to one of the more obscure entrances and come back some time later looking rumpled and smelling of smoke and gunpowder. She'll head for the coffee machine and wash it before preparing two cups of coffee and by this point Reborn is up and they'll drink coffee in the wee hours of morning while the base is silent. Haru'll slip a piece of paper across the table and rise to take a shower and catch a couple hours of sleep while Reborn finishes his coffee and washes both the cups left on the table.

Haru is not proud of what she does. She knows things now that she does not really want to know about people she has never really known existed. But no matter her faults Miura Haru loves the Famiglia. And if going out in suits and coming back smelling of smoke and gunpowder and keeping her mouth shut about flowers and storms will keep this dysfunctional family of blood and promises and once-upon-a-times together for a while longer, then Haru will do it.

Because Miura Haru is steel and stone and grass, and she has found her place under the Sky known as the Vongola. She knows now that she will never be the Boss's wife but she has realized that it was not Tsuna's love she wanted, it was the freedom that he offered that was so seductive to her. And somehow, that's all right too. The flower named Kyoko does not make her feel sick with jealousy anymore.

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><p><em>Katekyo Hitman Reborn! isn't mine, I'm too poor for that to be the case. As an apology for the delay, have a slightly longer chapter. Remember, reviews keep happy writers happy and co-operative.<em>


	4. Chapter 4

Gokudera Hayato is a prickly, harsh boy. Haru knows the type, one of her old classmates was very similar to Gokudera when it came to personality, and Haru had followed him around for quite a while before her attentions were stolen away by a boy from her neighborhood. So when Gokudera helps her up and extends a gruff apology after bumping into her and scattering a pile of laundry around, Haru both is and isn't surprised. She isn't really surprised about him apologizing, heavens no, she has known for a long while that he's an honorable man. What does surprise her, is that he stops to help her pick up the laundry and carries it to the laundry room for her, even though he really doesn't have the time for such menial tasks what with the looming confrontation with Byakuran in the horizon.

But because Haru knows his type, she merely thanks him quietly and makes sure that he receives an extra portion of food at dinner. After that, they do not interact much. They occasionally meet in the hallways, and one heart-stopping night Gokudera nearly catches her in a suit before she's had a chance to have a shower, but all in all, they don't interact. In a way, Haru is glad of it. It is a familiar constant, to be ignored. She has always been a somewhat disliked person within her social circles, partly because of her intelligence and partly because of her passionate nature that most people before Tsuna and the Famiglia found to be too overbearing. She is still occasionally a little frightened of the open friendliness and affection that has encompassed her, simply because for all her life she had been fighting for scraps of emotion and now they were being very nearly force-fed to her.

And so, without ever noticing it herself until Reborn makes a quiet remark over coffee that no other in the room hears, Haru starts drifting into his space. She handles chores near his training rooms more and more often, and his seat at dinner is usually near her, if not next to her. They sometimes exchange a few words that make her maiden heart beat out of rhythm, despite the mundane nature of the words and phrases exchanged.

And so, one late night when it's nearing morning, Haru abruptly stops shooting and freezes in place. Her mind had been mostly empty, wiped clean by the repetitive and soothing recoil of the gun in her hands when thoughts of Gokudera had invaded it. More specifically, it was the image of Gokudera surrounded by books and papers, his glasses slightly askew and his intelligence obvious in the furious scribbling his notebooks were being subjected to. What had frozen her in place was the emotion that accompanied the image in her thoughts. Haru, being Haru and undoubtedly the most passionate member of the Vongola, easily recognized the feeling, though it was softer then the all-consuming, burning sort of love that was as likely to harm as it was to heal, that she had grown used to.

So thrown from her zone, she marched to her room, pausing to retrieve a cup of coffee on her way and locking her door behind her. It wasn't that Haru had any real objection to loving Gokudera, he was quite handsome and his obvious intelligence had more than once made her pause for a moment, simply because he thought as fast, if not faster than she herself did. It was the quality of her emotion that had so thrown her. She had not noticed before, other than to deny it, that whenever Gokudera wandered across her thoughts, her chest lit up in a soft, warm glow and her eyes tended to linger on the cigarette smoke that curled from his mouth like a lovers caress. Of course, where Gokudera was, Tsuna was sure not to be far from, so Haru was reasonably sure that no-one had noticed anything odd, except maybe Reborn, but she could trust him to keep his mouth shut.

Resolved to not show her affection in any of the more obvious ways she was so fond of, she retired to bed, thinking quiet thoughts about silver and smoke and violently writhing storms, never knowing that a pair of eyes had heard gunfire, and fearing an invasion, followed them to the shooting range where they widened at the near perfect shots visible on the targets.

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><p><em>Katekyo Hitman Reborn! does not belong to me, I would be a rich woman if it did, and since I'm not, it follows that I do not, in fact, own Reborn!. Also, I apologize for the long wait with this chapter and wish you a Merry Christmas in case I won't have time to write you another chapter before it. Remember, reviews keep happy writers happy and co-operative!<em>


	5. Chapter 5

The sun high in the sky and the wind on his back while he leans on a sturdy chain link fence are the only things that really ground Gokudera at the moment. The ingrained habit of smoking has become so instinctual that he doesn't even notice it anymore, and the three-story fall is no more effective in grounding his always active mind.

Despite being very academically minded and finally finding some amount of challenge in his schoolwork for, perhaps, the first time in his life, Gokudera's attendance record is far from spotless. He can often be found on the school roof or sometimes walking through the extensive gardens surrounding the school, though that is rare. Gokudera can't help it really. While nowhere _near_ as independent as the Cloud, he does need a lot of quiet time to effectively organize his mind into some resemblance of calm. He's gotten better over the years really, he _has_, but he _is_ the Storm Guardian and it is in his nature to be at near constant conflict, whether with himself or some external source of agitation.

Today, his mind is worrying about one Miura Haru. It takes him two and a half cigarettes to go through every memory he has of the girl, going through some of them a few times over. Nothing. Oh, there are things that he notices now, that he had never noticed before, such as the curiously respectful attitude Reborn seemed to treat her with and the odd relationship his sister had with her, but there was nothing in his memories to suggest that Miura Haru had any sort of combat ability, much less experience. Much less experience that would leave her perfectly composed and even amused –though only a little, and even that in a pitying way, he decides- at the sight of three grown men groveling at her feet, their blood running over the concrete in little ribbons of crimson.

The only thing that Gokudera remembers that may have had anything to do with Haru, were the mysterious, perfectly shot targets that he encountered one night after having heard gunfire. She certainly seemed accurate enough now. The question is, was she as accurate then?

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><p><em>Well, looks like I'm eating my words about not having the time to write more chapters. Anyway, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is in no way my property and as such, I earn no monetary rewards from it. Remember to review, please<em>_!_


	6. Chapter 6

Haru has spent much of her life watching, observing. Now, it serves her very well. The Famiglia must be protected, and if her ability to tell things about people protects these friends that she's come to hold dear… Well, it is in her nature to strike quickly and true, even if her flame isn't the strongest in the Famiglia.

It is not only from people outside the Famiglia that she gleans little tidbits of knowledge from. She knows the value of information and knowing your own limits and so, she is painfully aware of the little weaknesses inherent in all the members of her family.

She sees how Yamamoto turns his head away just a little too quickly after glancing at the gleaming edge of his sword.

How Lambo grows very quiet and still in the dark.

She knows that Tsuna spends a long time staring at nothing after incinerating Byakuran and that it takes a long time for him to stop staring at fires hungrily.

Haru sees all the aborted touches between Bianchi and Gokudera.

How Hibari surrounds himself with soft things when possible.

However, Miura Haru is human. She does not see all, and does not pretend to. So, she is taken by surprise when Ryohei plants little weeds and tree sprouts around the base in little pots. She waters them very carefully when Ryohei isn't there nonetheless. She is taken unawares when she finds out that Gokudera plays the piano. She polishes the little baby grand in one of the back rooms in spite of how unlikely it is to be used.

Just like how she sews suits that fit like a glove, knowing that they're going to come back torn and bloody, she keeps quiet about the little moments filled with a silence so profound it hurts. This is a family that reaches for once-upon-a-times and firework-bright futures, and it is not her place to shine light on the shadows of the Famiglia's burden.

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><p>Okay, so this chapter might be a little confusing. For those of you that haven't realized this, Reborn! characters are a bunch of young adults, teens and preteens who kill people, who've had abusive or borderline so pasts, who've more than likely lost people in tragic and scarring ways, who have to constantly be on guard… You get the idea. They're not the healthiest kids ever. And this chapter was mostly born out of my annoyance with how the mangaanime tends to ignore this aspect of their characters most of the time, and that none of the healthier/more normal characters ever call the obviously more fucked up ones on it. Rant end.

_I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!. All you people who've reviewed… THANK YOU. You have no idea how much brighter you've made my days. Please keep doing it, you wonderful, wonderful rays of sunshine. :)_


	7. Chapter 7

Reborn keeps extensive files on all the members of the current generation. Of course, it is not widely circulated knowledge, he _is_ one paranoid hit man. It comes with the territory. And as an exceedingly paranoid man, he does not file the bulging manila files alphabetically. As a matter of fact, if one were to find these files (and get past the series of traps along the way, know the seven and half passwords and be able to pass the retina scanner to achieve that feat) one would find them to be seemingly in no order, other than that of familial alliances.

Should one search the third cabinet from the right (the first is a fake), one might find, wedged in the very back (behind a particularly nasty poison cooking trap) the files of Gokudera Hayato and Miura Haru. Were one to open these files, they would be very surprised. The file of Gokudera Hayato tells only things that anyone could find out, while asking the searcher to read Miura Haru's file for more information. At this point, an alarm would sound and the would-be spy would flee, rather than open the remaining file. Not that it'd help, since the file is blacked out nearly completely and most of the rest of the information is fake. Haru is not a fool and while she may respect Reborn, she certainly does not trust him.

However, there is one piece of information that is perfectly accurate in both files. 'Highly competitive.' The difference between these two lies in the following paragraph. For Gokudera, it is 'To be encouraged to participate in Family competitions.' For Haru, it is 'Never to participate in Family competitions.' This is not due to some innate difference in ability. In the beginning, Haru was classified as a 'Non-participant' because of her status as a female and her somewhat shaky position in the Famiglia. She had no combat potential to be polished and no real use to the Famiglia to be exploited, other than that of a distraction and a pretty decoration. There was no need for her to participate as anything other than a witness. Now, it is because of the work that Haru does for the more shadowy parts of the Vongola Empire that makes keeping her more exotic talents hidden a must.

For Gokudera, the reason for his classification is very simple (or as simple as any or Reborn's reasons ever are). There is nowhere near the amount of natural aptitude for battle in Gokudera that there is in some other members of the Famiglia, so Family events to polish his skills and shine light on his considerable intelligence are a must. The other reason for his nearly forced participation lies in his difficulty to connect to people. If he is to be the right hand man of the Vongola Decimo, he must be capable of diplomacy and what better way to train than amongst the Guardians, where the worst that can happen is a minor scuffle? Nowadays, it is simply because a hit man has to take his laughs where he can get them.

Should the spy have taken Haru's file with them and even gotten back to their base to try to glean some info from it, they might be puzzled about the sketch of a gun shown at the bottom of the last page, neatly hidden amongst the petals of a cherry-blossom. Some days after that, they'd find the barrel of the very gun in the sketch against the back of their head.

Haru may not have had much potential for open combat, but she was _very_ good with the more covert operations that required a quiet entrance and a room locked behind her. A muted thud and a wet squish later, a slim gloved hand picks up the file and Haru leaves the room like a ghost, leaving behind only the glassy eyes of a corpse and the faint scent of cherry-blossoms that will fade before any of the thugs at the base get to the room. She leaves the base as silently as she entered it and soon enough, the file of Miura Haru rests next to the file of Gokudera Hayato in the third cabinet from the right behind a particularly nasty poison cooking trap.

The next night at the Inheritance ceremony, Haru smiles at the men and women present, pretending not to notice all the whispers and assessing glances aimed at Tsuna and the rest. She is half-hidden in an alcove behind a large plant, watching the proceedings. She will not interfere (since, technically, she shouldn't be here) but that does not mean that she isn't going to be well informed about the state of the Famiglia. She's a fast learner, and neither Reborn nor Bianchi is a particularly coddling teacher. She had to learn the value of information, true or false, very fast.

There are comparatively few weapons to be spotted (even concealed ones), considering that it is a mafia gathering, but Haru manages to spot a one or two on most everyone. Only the Shimon family is free of weapons, almost suspiciously so, but Reborn was very clear in his instructions to leave the Shimon family alone until they find out what they want, and since they have not caused any harm that the Vongola could definitively trace back to them, her hands are tied, even though there were very few people capable of causing Yamamoto's wounds and the only ones possibly skilled enough in the area were the Shimon family.

When the Sin is brought out, Haru slips away while everyone is focused on the little vial. Whatever happens now, she would only be in the way and she cannot afford to lose her relative anonymity just now. She turns silently and touches the little gun strapped to her thigh underneath the dress. The little alcove is left empty, except for a little droplet of moisture that is quickly absorbed by the carpet.

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><p><em>Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is property of Amano Akira and I make no profit from it. A giant thank you to the people that reviewed. Please keep doing so in the future.<em>


	8. Chapter 8

The first time Gokudera notices Haru –really, truly _notices_ her- is at a small gathering of Vongola and their varied allies. Conversations float about the room in time with the music, glasses of wine are filled at the pace they're emptied and chandeliers create a soft, glimmering sort of half-light that makes everyone look a little different.

Gokudera would be following Tsuna if not for the fact that they're around mostly trusted Families and the awkwardly stuttered request for a bit of privacy in order to talk to Kyoko. Thusly abandoned, he's hiding behind some pillars, sipping at his wine while following the proceedings, ever vigilant and aware of his duty.

It is ironic that his dedication to his duty would be what causes him to notice the figure in red gliding smoothly in the arms of men around the dance floor. He can't quite recognize her -though there is definitely something familiar about the colour of her hair- and so he prowls to the floor, cutting in on the dance between her and Yamamoto. The baseball-idiot has the nerve to grin at him like he knows something he doesn't –as if!- before nodding briefly at the woman. Gokudera is too busy bristling at him to pay attention to his partner for the first few beats. After he's finished glaring, he turns his eyes upon the figure in his arms.

It takes even his brains a while to connect this, this vision, to the little spitfire of his youth that was always ranting about this or that. By the time his brains have caught up, his feet have already started moving through the opening steps of the tango. The floor around them has cleared of couples, giving them plenty of room. When the woman in his arms –Haru, his mind screams, that obnoxious little know-it-all!- molds to his body perfectly and follows his lead with enough skill to almost make him stumble because of the lack of little corrections and adjustments he usually had to make when dancing with someone, he almost groans. He just knows this is going to be trouble.

He's right of course. After the party and The Dance –he feels it's an event worth capitalization- he starts noticing Haru everywhere. It's almost like he's suddenly become aware of a whole new world, one whose existence was a mystery to him before. A world full of chocolate eyes and oddly graceful limbs. A glimpse of hair vanishing around a corner, bright chatter flowing in from windows, he even spots her regularly speaking with the other Guardians.

The feeling he gets when he sees her with them is an odd, bitter sort of feeling that he doesn't dare think about too deeply. It feels too similar to the feeling he gets when Tsuna laughs with Yamamoto and Ryohei, or reads quietly to Lambo. But that's ridiculous, it's not like he has any reason to be jealous of the others for her attention. There really isn't, right…?

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><p><em>Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is in no way my property and I make no money from it. That said, I apologise for the wait with this chapter. And remember, reviews keep happy writers happy.<em>;)


	9. Chapter 9

Gokudera Hayato and Miura Haru, most of the time, get along like a house on fire. Complete with explosions. It's not very surprising, considering how many similarities they share.

What is surprising –enough so to completely stun the Family around them- is how far they're able to take their arguments. While they may start off with insults that call into question the others' intelligence, sexual performance, their parents' species and their possible future progeny, it's always a little unnerving to see them turn all that fury into ripping the others clothing off and using all that energy in other, rather more pleasurable pursuits, that usually end with a couple minutes of silence before the insults and screaming-matches start again, this time even more vigorously. There has long been a special clause in the contract of every worker at the mansion that the Famiglia will provide a limitless amount of earplugs.

Pretty much the only ones that actually understand the full dynamics of their relationship are Haru and Hayato themselves.

But the Famiglia is nothing if not adaptable, and soon enough, the daily arguments and fights are commonplace and no-one pays them any mind, other than to vacate the premises at the slightest sign of a fight breaking out between them. Even Ryohei and Lambo have learnt that lesson. They're notorious for dragging others into their arguments and –after one occasion that still makes the rest of the Famiglia chuckle when they think of it- making even Hibari and Mukuro beat a _very_ hasty retreat when they start going at it.

One would think that nothing they did could surprise the others anymore. Certainly not after that one episode where they'd been making sandwiches and started arguing about the fillings, which, of course, turned the kitchen into a veritable warzone and displayed Haru's frightening proficiency with various cooking utensils thoroughly –though not on the level of Bianchi, she was still not someone you wanted to cross in the kitchen.

Or the time when they were supposed to be negotiating a deal with the Russians and ended up blowing the whole hotel sky-high and driving to the sunset on a stolen car. Though, if only for the sake of honesty, the Russians never did try anything funny against the Vongola after that.

So when the normally noisy Guardians and the Decimo go completely silent and the shock creeps through the halls like a living thing, the servants' first reaction is to duck. When nothing happens, they cautiously emerge from their hiding places and get back to work, all the while shooting puzzled glances at each other and whispering furiously in small groups.

What actually happened is a little anti-climatic, to tell the truth. The others had been looking for Haru and Gokudera and Ryohei had slammed the door to one of the small sitting rooms open while searching. The silence following the opening of the door had lead the other members of the family to the sight.

Haru and Gokudera were sitting side by side on a loveseat, Gokudera's arms around Haru and Haru's legs in his lap, both of their eyes closed. The whole room seemed fairly bathed in serenity, the soft sunlight streaming from the windows painting the room in warm shades of gold, Gokudera's even breathing ruffling Haru's hair and her head resting on Gokudera's chest.

There wasn't really anything that shocking about it, everyone was aware that they must've had some peaceful times in their otherwise turbulent relationship, but… They had never seen either Haru or Gokudera quite so relaxed.

Once they managed to close their mouths, they shut the doors behind them, very careful not to make any noise, and spread out, all more than a little dazed. The house was unnervingly quiet for the next few hours.

In the little sitting room with large windows, where the sunlight colors everything gold, impish teal and chocolate eyes open, meet and the room fills with muffled giggles.

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><p>Because I was apparently unclear about this –sorry, everyone, all the little drabbles-or at least most of them - posted under "Silent stories" are actually meant as individualistic pieces with no relation to each other. Mostly because I suck at writing within any sort of timeline. So all these pieces are not, as a matter of fact, meant to be a single story, but rather bits and pieces about moments in different universes and times. Rant out.<p>

_I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and I make no money off this. The people who reviewed, you are wonderful, lovely people who deserve cookies. As I don't know who you are, they're unfortunately imaginary ones. The ones who haven't yet reviewed, the review button is right there, you know what to do, reviews keep happy writers happy, productive and co-operative.;)_


	10. Chapter 10

Miura Haru is not quite right in the head, even at the best of times. Many people remark on her enthusiastic nature and whimsical actions, and even the Guardians are forced to shake their heads despairingly at her antics every once in a while. No-one thinks any more of it. After all, it's just Haru and she, well; she's always been a little odd.

There aren't many in the Vongola who know _just_ how true the comments about loose screws are. Reborn was the first and Tsuna is, of course, aware as well, seeing as he is the one who sends her to take care of things. But not even they know quite as well as Gokudera, who has made Haru-watching into an art form, and if they do well, Reborn won't say anything as long as Haru is useful and Tsuna dislikes thinking about the uglier truths of the mafia.

But neither of them has seen Haru return home with the morning sun, always impeccably groomed and immaculately clean, but seeming as if she should be drenched in blood. Neither Tsuna nor Reborn has witnessed the absolute lack of remorse in her eyes, or the wicked glee tangling about her mouth like a barbed vine. Gokudera has, and so when he says that Haru has a few screws loose, it is always said with the slightest tinge of reluctant admiration. Her missing screws made her perfect for the things she does.

And if Haru makes Gokudera shiver with her beatific grin, well, they _are _in the mafia. A little sadism is often necessary, and if blood doesn't make Haru bothered it's only really a good thing. But still, Gokudera doesn't really like not being able to save her. He'd like to, on occasion, be the hero instead of the sidekick. But she is hardly a damsel in distress.

But if Belphegor makes eyes at her _one more time_…

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><p><em>Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is in no way my property and I make no money off it. Reviews are much appreciated.<em>


	11. Chapter 11

Bombs weren't really the best type of weapon to kill someone. As a matter of fact, they were an exceedingly bad weapon for killing someone. They were weapons that made a lot of noise and the collateral damage was truly impressive, but they were not weapons made to kill.

This is why Gokudera's first intimate kill was such a shock. He had killed people before, yes, but those deaths had been caused by falling rubble and third-degree burns which meant that by the time those unfortunate sods breathed their last, he was already far away. He had thought he dealt with death fine, certainly better than that baseball-idiot who worked himself until exhaustion and then drank himself into oblivion after bad missions, or Ryohei who became quiet and withdrawn and stopped eating.

He was wrong. The intimacy of sinking a blade between someone's ribs shook him enough to make him stumble and the next mook nearly took his ear off. So he pushed past the disgust and stuffed a stick of dynamite down his shirt. He remembered why explosives weren't really suitable for close quarters when he had to flick blood and brain matter from his hair for the third time in as many minutes.

It was only when the battle had ended and the last wheezing breaths of the dying were faint memories in the wind, that Gokudera broke down. Luckily, he had reached one of the Vongola hideouts before falling on his knees and sobbing his eyes out.

The one to find him was –who else? - Haru. She looked at him sadly, but the underlying understanding about the horridness of taking a life was missing. She looked at him like an angel, innocent and pure and without understanding, but in the most twisted way possible, and she offered him a handkerchief that had faint reddish stains on it.

Gokudera threw up on her shoes.

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><p><em>Katekyo Hitman Reborn isn't in any way my property, I'd be way more wealthy if it was. Sorry for the wait and reviews make writers very happy.:)<em>


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